


Mercy

by usernamealwaystaken



Category: No Straight Roads (Video Game)
Genre: fanon names for the boys not used because it takes place before neon j gave them distinct names, sorry but i had to do a hit on one of the boys :(
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-10-21
Updated: 2020-10-21
Packaged: 2021-03-08 18:49:33
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,881
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27131380
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/usernamealwaystaken/pseuds/usernamealwaystaken
Summary: During combat training, Green's detonation does not exactly go as planned and Neon J has to make a difficult decision to end his suffering.
Relationships: 1010 & Neon J. (No Straight Roads)
Comments: 21
Kudos: 132





	Mercy

**Author's Note:**

> An anon on nsr-scrapped-records on tumblr sent in an ask about Neon J mercy killing the boys if they're beyond repair. I added on because I'm terrible and now here's a fic about it.

“Attention!”

“Sir!” All five robots stood at attention before their Captain in his workshop. Normally cluttered with blueprints and spare parts, Neon J had it all cleaned up for the presentation of his new factory. The newest models of 1010 differed from the previous in that they were sleek, less bulky, and overall more visually stunning. As NSR’s newest addition, Neon J took care in making sure 1010 looked their absolute best. However, their new models should not come at the expense of security. He was still tasked with keeping the city safe, after all. Just because his robots weren’t as bulky doesn’t mean they should lose out on combat prowess.

“At ease, soldiers. Today we will be testing out your built-in weaponry. Defense training is just as important as your dance routines. Each of you will enter the training room and practice your techniques. No slacking off!”

“Sir, yes sir!” all robots said in unison.

1010 stepped up to the training room as a group. Inside lay positioned various training dummies armed with various weapons. The goal was to engage with each enemy using techniques that maximize the efficiency of their own weapons while avoiding those of their enemies.

“Stand back boys,” Red piped up with a mischievous grin on his face, “I can’t wait to show off my sexy as hell buzzsaws.”

Blue adjusted his glasses. “Oh please, they may look cool, but my staff is way more practical.”

Red puts Blue in a headlock and gives him a noogie, ignoring his protests about how long it takes to get his hair perfect in the mornings. “Ha! Yeah, right! You’re just hitting them with a stick, what’s that gonna-”

“Green, you’re up first.”

All the boys straightened up at Captain J’s interruption. Red and Blue looked indignant and voiced their disapproval while Green tensed.

“M-Me? First? Are you sure?”

Neon J softened at Green’s tone. He was always so reluctant, despite reassurance from the rest of his brothers and himself. Neon J approached Green and placed a hand on his shoulder.

“I’m sure. You are very skilled, Green. You’ve always performed your dance practices well and you’ve been very cordial to our budding fanbase. I’m proud to have you defending Vinyl City alongside us.”

Green gives a sheepish smile. “Thanks, da- uh, Captain J.”

With newfound confidence, Green walked into the training room. Neon J and the rest of 1010 turned to the large glass pane that looked out into the training room. Green looked back and his brothers give him a thumbs up and words of encouragement. Neon J sat at his chair, tablet in hand. It’s used to record his troops’ progress and control the dummies, but most importantly, it monitors the factory. Neon J set up his robots so that, as soon as their bodies are destroyed, the data containing their memories and personality is automatically returned to the factory and a new body can be produced quickly and efficiently. Neon J always had the factory preset to Green, due to his reliance on self-detonation.

“Okay, Green. Let’s test out your blast radius. Try to get as many dummies in the explosion as possible.”

Green nodded, partially to himself and partially to his captain. He can do this. He picked out the largest cluster of dummies he could find and ran in. Green’s explosive power was specifically designed to cause harm to others while being painless to himself. The explosion was designed to destroy his body immediately, with a new one waiting for him at the factory. So when Neon J saw a pile of scrap left behind and between four and five dummies out of commission, he was pleased at the result. He looked down at the tablet.

STANDBY. ALL ROBOTS FUNCTIONAL.

All robots functional? Was this thing glitching? He could see Green’s broken body right in front of him. Confusion set in, followed soon after by horror. Did his data not get transferred? If not, where was it? Did it get lost?

While he searched his tablet for answers, he heard a gasp from the other members. He looked up and saw the pile of scrap that was Green trembling. White immediately went for the door and the rest of the stunned brothers followed along. Neon deactivated the dummies and stood up to assess the damage. 

Green was mostly whole, but badly battered. The lights in his left eye kept blinking, his right leg was completely off, and his whole body was burnt and awkwardly crunched. His brothers fussed over him and yelled for a response, but didn’t want to touch him, fearing that they would do more harm than good. For once, Neon J was thankful for his cyborg body. He could force the trembling in his limbs to cease and he had no widened eyes to show his worry. All he had to do was to calm his breathing. His troops could not see him anxious. He needed to be strong.

“Alright troops, back into the mansion. I have a set of special tools I keep in my room to do repairs on myself in case the worst happens. I need you to go and bring them to me.”

The four boys hovered over their shaken brother for a few seconds. “But-”

“Now, troops! Move move MOVE!”

What was left of 1010 practically tripped over themselves in their haste to get the tools that would mean Green’s safety. Neon J watched them all leave. He knew even the tools he kept under his bed wouldn’t help. Green’s body was beyond repair. He just didn’t want them to see what he had already decided to do. His attention was snapped back to green by a small noise.

“D-Dad…?”

He couldn’t stop himself from flinching. His voice was distorted and low. Green looked up at him with one good eye and tried to lift his hand. Neon J knelt down took his hand in his own. “Yes, son?”

“Is this… supposed to happen?”

“No, son, it’s not. But I can make this right. I just need you to be brave for me for a little while, ok? You’ll be alright soon enough. I just need to do some repairs, ok?” Neon J points to the far wall across the room. “Can you face that wall for me? I need to access a panel on your neck.”

Green complied, wincing all the while. There was an essential chip that was housed behind the panel. If he could just remove it, perhaps he could end Green’s suffering and get his data over to the factory. Upon closer inspection, the door to the chip was so heavily dented that it could not be opened without attempting to pry it open or any number of methods that would only make Green hurt more. He knew of a quick way to get it done. It wouldn’t be pleasant, but pleasant had long since left the building. He got up and made his way back to the workshop.

Hearing his captain’s retreating footsteps, Green endured the pain of turning his head back around and called out. “Dad?!” 

“It’s ok, Green, I’m right here. I’m not leaving, I just need something from the workshop.” Neon J forced calm into his voice. “Turn back around, Green.” 

Green kept watching him for a few moments before turning back around. Neon J continued to talk to Green while he was away, urging him to continue facing the far wall. Back in the workshop, he dug through boxes that lay had untouched for years up until this very moment. It was a terrible, horrible reason to bring these back to light, but a soldier does what he must. He loaded his old sniper rifle and took up his position.

“I know this is scary for you,” as if this wasn’t scary for him too, “so try slowly counting upwards from one to ten, and start over every time you get to ten.”

“Okay…”

“Trust me.” He took aim. He’s never missed.

“1… 2…”

He fires.

And he watches. He doesn’t want to, but he watches the bullet land solidly on its mark. The force caused Green’s head to scoot along the ground a little bit, but he stopped counting and he stopped trembling. Neon J, finally alone, allows himself to tremble. He waits for a few agonizing moments, focusing on deep inhales, holding the breath, and then deep exhales, before a noise from his tablet brings him back to reality. He scrambled over and read the screen.

DATA TRANSFER SUCCESSFUL! CREATE BODY FOR: Green?  
YES NO

Neon J slumped over and placed a hand on his monitor. His mind raced with what ifs and what could have been. He disassembled and unloaded his gun before putting in back in its place. Each moment that gun was out was a reminder of the times mercy came out of the end of its barrel. Neon J pressed the glowing YES and the factory whirred to life. Within moments, Green stepped out of the factory, looking as though the past few minutes had never happened. The two looked at each other, at a loss for words, when the rest of 1010 burst in.

“Captain J, we found the tools!”

“Fix him! Hurry!”

Green broke his gaze with his captain and turned to his brothers. A wide grin broke out on his face. The tense expression on their faces melted into relief and they all embraced in a group hug. They broke out in unintelligible screaming about ‘how cool that explosion was’ and ‘you looked really fucked up, dude. Are you sure you’re alright?’ and ‘that’s one way to find out the factory works’. Neon J watched his boys comfort and support each other and sat back down in his chair. His shaking was subsiding but the tenseness hadn’t quite left his system yet.

“Alright boys, I think that’s enough practice for today. You’re free to go.”

1010 looked at Neon J, and then at Green. Then White put a hand on Green’s shoulder. “Hey, that DJ in the Cast Tech district just dropped some new songs. Why don’t we chill and listen?”

“Yeah, we can take a walk on over there if you want,” Yellow chimed in.

“Good luck with being inconspicuous, our fans are scanning this district 24/7 just to see us.” Blue said.

“Thanks guys, I think I do wanna take a walk after that.”

“Wooooo~!” the rest of 1010 sang.

As the rest of the boys turned and started talking amongst themselves, Green hung back. Neon J had turned back to his desk, staring down at some blueprints and fiddling with a pen in his hand. Green quickly walked over and gave him a hug. Caught off guard, Neon J didn’t even get the chance to hug back before Green was running back to the group. Neon J turned and watch his boys, all of his boys, walk off to see the rest of the city. They were good kids. They deserved better than to know what just happened. What he had to do because of his own design flaw. Neon J turned back to his blueprints and worked on a way to make sure that mercy was a little kinder next time around.


End file.
